


Couples

by Otava



Series: Prompts [2]
Category: Ripper Street
Genre: #rebranding, CALLED VARIOUS/PROMPTS/REQUEST FILLS, Multi, Prompt Fill, THIS WAS PREVIOUSLY UNDER ANOTHER NAME FYI, i changed it because that title was shit, pick and choose what to read, some of these arent terrible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2018-09-23 11:59:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9656588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otava/pseuds/Otava
Summary: Rare Pair Ship Collection:Explores various, mainly "rare pair", relationships in the show that I, nor anyone else, write too much for.





	1. Picnic - Mimi/Jackson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompts on Tumblr:  
> A) Space exploration in the Victorian Era. B) “Knowledge is a person with a beautiful desk.” C) A spring picnic and a wasp. D) “I would die in the pursuit of truth.”
> 
> Mimi and Jackson enjoy a picnic.

It was a fine spring afternoon; Mimi and Jackson had decided to spend the day in the countryside having a spontaneous picnic out in the open air. 

Unfortunately, the first picnic location they had chosen had been a failure. It had been near a wasp nest.

Jackson had gotten stung three times and Mimi once. They ran away as fast as they could, pausing later to catch their breath to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. They had forgotten to grab their picnic basket in their rush, so Jackson went back to fetch it to his great displeasure.

Mimi thanked him with a quick kiss to the cheek before they moved to their second location.

This one was much better and under a lone, shady tree in the middle of a large field.

“The perfect place for stargazing,” Jackson grinned as he pulled out a quite a fancy telescope and stand from the bag he had been carrying along with him all the while.

Mimi lay back into his arms. “Tell me, how is it that you've managed to procure such a beautiful telescope? I would find it hard to believe you purchased such a thing yourself,” she laughed lightly.

“I won it. In a bet.” 

“You and gambling, Captain. I suppose it had to pay off eventually.” She smiled. “You must teach me your tricks sometime; I’m sure I can greatly profit from a few of your sneaky techniques.”

“You don’t need my help,” Jackson said. “From what I remember, you are quite good at strip poker, my dear. You know all the tricks there are in the book.”

“It's in my best interest to be skilled in poker,” Mimi answered.

“It's not just skill. You are very much knowledgeable in the game itself, its rules, and how to read people,” Jackson complemented.

“Knowledge is easy to come by. Knowledge studying. Knowledge is good taste. Knowledge is a person with a beautiful desk,” Mimi said with a smile. “Just like yours.”

“Still thinking about our little morning tussle, aren't you?” Jackson asked referring to their heated coupling on top of his desk which mimi had initiated.

“Yes. You looked so attractive in your glasses, so smart and studious,” Mimi answered. “I had to distract you; a woman like me simply couldn't resist.”

“Distracting a man in the middle of his train of thought can be cruel sweetheart.” Jackson said planting a kiss on Mimi’s soft skin. “Especially when it's important detective work like I was doing. You know me, I would die in the pursuit of the truth,” Jackson said as he drew her onto his lap and kissed her neck. “But I will also allow myself to take a break every now and then for fun, unlike our friend Detective Reid.” 

Mimi turned around to face him, kissing his lips. “Reid’s not so bad. You’d be surprised, but he does know how to let loose sometimes.”

Jackson smiled.

The two continued to wait on their picnic blanket together until day turned to dusk and then dusk turned to dark. 

Jackson had already had the telescope set up hours in advance and as soon as it was dark enough, he gazed into the little eyeglass to locate the constellations he wanted to share with Mimi. 

They took their turns staring into telescope, looking at the stars, thereafter.

“They’re beautiful.” Mimi gasped, admiring the delightful bright dots of light in the sky.

“You don't get to see them as much in town as down here. Too much soot clouds and lights; not to mention the tall buildings obstructing the view,” Jackson explained.

“That's too bad, I'd love to see a view like this every night.”

“Reminds me of America, sleeping in the desert under the stars, you can see for miles and miles there.”

“You slept there? In the open just like that?” Mimi shifted to look at Jackson in the eyes.

“We sure did. Didn't have many other options sometimes. I highly recommend you try it one day; that we try it on day.” Jackson said, softly.

“No. Not tonight. Though but I'm content to stare at the stars for the time being.”

“Me too.”


	2. Goodbye - Drake/ Jackson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> STORY 2:
> 
> Birthday prompt from Rebelside over at tumblr  
> "Drake/ Jackson as a couple."
> 
> I personally don't SEE this ship at all but eh... I gave it a go.

“Jackson.”

“Drake.” 

The two men acknowledged each other's presence in the hallway of Leman Street’s deadroom. Their eyes were locked together and Jackson sported a bit of a grin. Drake’s eyebrows knitted with concern.

“I just thought I’d drop by to say goodbye,” Drake explained..

“So you’re really doing it then?”

“I am,” Drake stiffened his posture. “I’ve just packed up the last of my belongings from work and am headed straight to the station. The train leaves in about at a quarter to the hour. I just wanted to say- before I go- about what happened- you won’t-”

“Forget about it. It was nothing,” Jackson laughed. “I won’t tell anyone about it if you don't.”

Drake nodded. “Alright then.”

“Alright then,” Jackson mirrored.

Drake lugged his meager belongings into a carriage right outside the station house. It took him down to the terminal where he, presented his ticket, put his belongings away and sat down in his seat. The train whistled and started to chug away. Drake stared out the window and watched Whitechapel disappear before him. 

Not five minutes into his journey, his eyes began to shut as the steady rhythm of the train lulled him to sleep. His mind began to stray and he began to think. He was thinking about Jackson and that had happened during the previous week:

He had been in the ring, fighting with Shine in the final showdown. He won, but he had also taken quite the beating. The next day he took a day to rest then the day after that, he came hobbling back into work as if everything was normal. That day the American also decided to show up to work at the same time.

“You look bad,” Jackson had told him.

Drake glared at him angrily in response.

“Have you had anybody look at you since, you know?”

“No.” Drake simply said.

“Can I take a look at you?” Jackson questioned.

They walked into the privacy of Jackson’s deadroom. Drake shrugged and took off his coat for Jackson's inspection. Jackson squeezed and touched various parts of his body looking for bruises and fractures.

“Would you take your shirt off?” Drake’s chest was covered with bruises. Jackson's fingers lightly traced over them, eliciting a nearly silent moan from Drake. “You need to take better care of yourself, Benito. There’s not much left of you.” he chuckled. “ Some of these, er, injuries seem a few weeks old. What were you doing?”

“You know what I was doing,” Drake said curtly. “Surely somebody’s told you.”

“I must admit, I’ve been a little preoccupied with my own ‘issues’ that last few weeks,” Jackson admitted. “A matter of great importance, as it were. Not to say I wasn’t worried about you, of course. I am the one who always has the pleasure of patching you up.”

“I was fighting.”

“These wounds though. They don’t look like you were doing much fighting back.”

Drake stayed silent. “That’s correct.”

“Drake-”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Drake said quickly.

“I do understand. Me and you, we’re not so different.”

Drake scoffed.

“No, really. We ain’t. I’ve been going through the same thing with Susan. Except she’s alive and not dead like your Bella. But trust me, Drake. I’m still hurting just as bad as you are. It’s eating me up inside and all I can do to forget is drink. Fighting is like drinking for you, Drake. I get it. You drown yourself and bury your pain with fighting until you forget.”

“You go too far, American.” Drake grabbed his shirt and left the room.

Presently, back on the train, Drake allowed himself to reflect on the encounter. Jackson had been right that time, after all. The man knew him all too well. They both knew that Whitechapel stored too many bad memories for the both of them.  
Jackson should have left too if he knew what was good for him. But Drake recalled the twinkle in Jackson’s eye when he had been talking about Susan. The man still held onto hope, and that hope for Susan was strong enough to tie him down to Whitechapel until the end of time itself. The man had to be close to her.

Drake looked around the train to find that he was mostly alone. He let his mind go back to the same memory he had been recalling but this time, he recalled what happened later that day, after he had walked out on Jackson.

He was sitting in his room that he had trashed months ago, eating his nightly meal when there was a knock at his door. Begrudgingly, Drake got up and dodged the mess on the floor to get to their door. He opened up the door with the chain still attached. “Jackson,” he stated, looking out of the crack.

“I’ve come to apologize.” There were two bottles of drink in his hand. “Thought you could use some company. I sure well can.”

The door closed and for a second Drake considered leaving the American outside. Instead, he undid the chain and opened the door back up to let him in.

“The place looks nice,” Jackson said shoving a bottle into Drake's hand while his eyes glanced down at the mess. Drake rolled his eyes and cleared the table for the two of them. “I brought you some of Dr. Jackson’s special tonic too to help with the pain. The strong stuff. I’m surprised the pain isn’t bothering you. I'd say at least two of your ribs are cracked.”

“I can handle it,” Drake said, taking a deep swig of the drink.

“Sure you can. But I would like to help if all possible.”

“And what do you get out of it?”

“The pleasure of helping a friend.” 

The two men were close to each other. Their faces were mere inches away. Both men were hurting and desperate. 

One of them, it wasn't clear who, leaned in a little too far. Their lips brushed lightly. Drake let out a little gasp of shock and pulled away. Jackson's eyes stayed fixated on Drake’s lips. Soon, they both leaned in again, their lips more firm this time. Jackson’s lips found Drake’s neck and he began to nibble at it while Drake groaned out in pleasure.

Their breathing both increased and Drake’s arms pulled Jackson close to him as possible. He needed him desperately in that moment. Jackson's body felt so good.  
“Woah there, partner.” Jackson laughed as Drake nearly pulled him off the seat. “Perhaps we should find a more comfortable surface if we want to continue, yeah?” Jackson grabbed Drake’s hand in his and pulled him up from his seat. Drake’s eyes were averted and nervous, as if he was having second thoughts. Jackson led him to the small bed and sat them down next to one another. Jackson looked straight into his eyes as his hand firmly planted itself on his thigh. “You good?”

“Yeah,” Drake swallowed, dryly. “I am.”

“You don’t like men?” Jackson questioned.

“I don’t.”

“But you want this.”

“Yes, I do.” Drake kissed him first this time, feeling the tension leave his body as he did so. His left hand placed itself on Jackson's leg, mirroring the other man and gave Jackson’s leg a little squeeze of reassurance and the two continued where they previously left off.

The sound of train’s whistle woke Drake up. He must have dozed off and been dreaming. The window provided new scenery around him. 

He was going to start over again after leaving everything behind him. 

There was a stack of smoke from Whitechapel that he could still make out in the distance. “Take care, Jackson,” he whispered in its direction.

He’d never let himself forget.


	3. Laundry - Susan/Reid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this was prompted by sootandsnide on tumblr but I forgot bacause I wrote this more than a year ago¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

“Here to pick up your laundry again?” Susan asked him.

Reid simply nodded and shuffled to press his back against the wall to get out of the way as Susan grabbed a stack of folded clothes out of a nearby basket for him. “Until next week, Miss Hart,” Reid spoke as their fingertips brushed in the exchange.

“Goodbye, Mr Reid,” she bid him.

“I’m here for my laundry,” Reid spoke again about a week later on the same day of the week and around the same time.

She nodded and complied. The interaction was quick and mechanical as always.

The next time he came in, however, in the spur of the moment; she had asked him to stay.

“Won’t you have some tea? It’s been a slow day and I could use the company.” 

“Of course,” he said, smiling.

* * *

* * *

After that it had been a customary thing for the two of them to do. 

Reid would either pick up or drop of his laundry and then take tea with Susan in her sitting room room upstairs. 

They shared many personal stories and opinions with each other during their talks and slowly learned more of one another with each passing meeting.

Feelings and occurrences which were not shared with others were unleashed in that room.

“Emily died today,” Reid spoke softly with tears in his eyes

“I’m sorry-” 

His shirts continued to be ironed and washed at the cathouse. Often they had tea, other times they just chatted for a few minutes when time did not allow for tea. 

They grew rather close to the point where friendly touched and holding of the hands was no longer strange to them. It soon became customary for one of them to kiss the other on the cheek when they parted ways for the remainder of the day.

Eventually, Susan and Reid began to harbour feelings for one another of a romantic nature and later, a lustful nature after some time.

Yet, neither acted on them.

But Reid had decided it was time for a change.

He got up from his seat, ready to leave and carefully placed his hands on Susan’s arms, holding her lovingly. “Can I kiss you?” he asked her.

“Yes, of course,” she answered with a face twisted with confusion.

“I-, erm, don’t mean as I’ve been doing, Mrs. Hart,” he said, cautiously.

“Yes,” she said again, this time more firmly as she leaned into him, her eyes heavy-lidded with desire.

Reid gazed down at her and let out a soft gasp of air. 

She was beautiful.


End file.
